Sacramento’s Urijah Faber loses decision to Frankie Edgar

Sacramento’s Urijah Faber lost to Frankie Edgar in a featured featherweight bout Saturday at UFC Fight Night 66 in Manila.

“A few bumps and bruises but all and all a good time,” Faber (32-8) posted on Facebook after the fight. “Congrats to Frankie Edgar.”

Edgar, the former lightweight champion, won 50-45 on all three judges’ cards.

“I wanted to go out there and make a statement,” Edgar (19-4-1) said. “I won 5-0, but Urijah’s tough as hell. I looked up to him when I first got in; he’s the guy everybody wanted to be and it was an honor to fight him. He’s a legend of the sport and us lightweight guys really owe it to this guy.”

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The bout was the first at 145 for Faber – the No. 3-ranked bantamweight contender – since 2010. Faber, 35, hoped a victory over Edgar would give him a shot at another championship.

Instead, Edgar, the No. 2-ranked featherweight contender, said after the bout he deserves a title shot against the winner of the July 11 fight between champion Jose Aldo and top contender Conor McGregor at UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas.

The card was UFC’s first in the Philippines, a country best known to sports fans as the home to former boxing champion Manny Pacquiao. Though Faber pressed to have the fight at his hometown Sleep Train Arena, he eventually embraced the notion of expanding the MMA brand.

“It’s pretty cool to be in a fight that introduces an entire country to UFC and a live event,” Faber told The Bee during training before traveling to the Philippines. “Obviously, Manny is king over there, but that is a huge market for us. There are only a couple of big fights in the boxing world, and with our growth, there are a lot of potential fans for us in the Philippines.”

Two weeks ago, Faber said he wanted to continue fighting, even though Saturday’s loss was his 40th MMA fight.

“Two more years,” Faber said. “I don’t want to retire prematurely or live with any regrets. I don’t see myself slipping. So why not do a couple more fights?”